COMMERCIAL ITEMS

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2681, 29 January 1916, Page 8

COMMERCIAL ITEMS

INVESTMENT SHAKES. A ?ale of N.Z. Shipping Co.'s shares (ordinary) at £18 was reported yesterday. Tho Quotations were as follow:— Buyers. Sellers. £ 8. d. £ b. d. National Bank 5 0 0 — Bank N.Z. (£3 6s. Bd.) .... 10 10 0 - Bank N.Z. (£6 13s. M.) .. 16 5 0 Onion Bank 50 10 0 — Equitable Building 9 15 0 — National Mortgage 3 16 6 — Loan and Jlercan. (pref.) — 6.310 0 N.Z.' and Uiver Plato ... 2 0 0 Well. Invest T. and A. — 011 0 Napier. Gos (£5) — 9 0 0 Well. Gas (£10) 16 0 6 - N.Z. Insurance — 6 6 0 Standard Insurance .115 0 — Union Steam (ord.) 16 0 16 9 Union Steam (pref.) ; 10 3 — Well. Woollen (pref.) 5 16 — Well' Woollen (ord.) 3 7 6 Westport Coal 17 6 — iV.Z. Drug 2 4 0 2 5 0 Sharland (ord.) 14 3 — Sharland (pref.) 113 — Ward and Co 510 0 — , EJtPOKT OF SECURITIES. Of the various attempts made br Great Britain to neutralise the adverse trade balance with the United States, the export of securities issued by the latter country is the latest device. Tile hugo purchases of munitiobs and raw materials of various kinds by Great Britain in tho United States on behalf of herself and lior Allies, created an amount of indebtedness in tho vendor country, which could not be liquidated by the export of goods. Bills drawn by' American shippers on. British buyers became so redundant that New York Exchange houses offered a diminishing quantity of dollars and cents for tho right to ' claim a tMvcreign in London. In other words, sterling exchange ifa New York fell to a discount of almost 8 per cent., which loss had to be borne by tho British importers. Tho .first Bte|) taken to adjust tho exchange was to ship gold, but the sum that could bo spared did not nearly suffice, and in addition .there were other reasons why this method . should not be too rigorously pursued. Then a loan of £100,030,000 was raised in Now l'ork, and finally it was decided to send American securities iacross the Atlantic. which could bo "utilised for supporting exchange in London. The British Government endeavoured to purchase stocks, but failing to obtain the desired quantity in this; manner, a more direct step was taken. In some way not yet disclosed, tho Gov. eminent has induced holders of American bonds to lend them for national purposes, and, at the same time, tho borrower has tho right of sale. Whatever wero the inducements offered, the response, to tho appeal has been exceedingly satisfactory. So numerous wcro the owners willing to deposit their securities that .the Bank of England had to extend its business hours. Chanoellors of the Exchotjuer have referred on several occasions to tho immense aggregate of British investments in foreign bonds, and It is gratifying to find that such a sourco of wealth can be mobilised in a time of emergency.

WHOLESALE PRODUCE PRICE. Messrs. Lfiery and Co., Ltd., Allen Street, report wholesalo prices as follow wheat, prime, 6s. 4d. to 6s. 7d.; fowls' barley, ss.' 3d.; Cape barley, ss. 9d.; feed peas, prime, ss. 3d. to ss. ui.; partridge peas. 6s. 3d.; maize feed. 6s. 2d.; seed, 6s. ffd.; oatensheaf nhaff, £6 ss. to £6 10s.; hay, £1 10s. to £7 10s.; flour in sacks, £14 10s.; oatmeal, £20; bran, £5 15s. to £6; pollard, BID; rice pollard, £7 10s.; onions, £5 to i' 6 10s.; potatoes, £6 10s. to £8; baled straw, £3 to £3 10s.; bacon, sides, lid.; roils, Is.j hams, Is.; shoulders, 83d.; cheose, BJd.; . linseed nuts, £13 10s. Customs duty collected at the port of Wellington yesterday .amounted to £2314 6s. 4d. f LONDON WOOL S£LES. Messrs. Betliune and Hunter have received advico by cable of the sale of the following clips at the current London sale. The prices are the all-round averages; locks and pieces includedß.H., 414 balc6, 18i|d.; 8.H.P., 263 bales, 19 M6d.; MF/Putiki. 35 bales, 20£ d. . N«w Zealand Ixxui and' Mercantile Agency Company, Limited, have received tic following cablegram from the London house, under date January 26:—TIia market is active. As oompared with December 23 the following are higher Merino, superior and medium, 5 por cent, to 71 per cent.; inferior, faulty, and lambs, 7i per'cent, to .10 per cent.; crossbred, fine, 6 pc>r cent.;. medium, coarse, and lambs, and Blipe, fine and medium, 5 per cent, to 74 per.cent.i coarse and lambs, 7i per cent, to 10 per cent.

SOUTHERN GRAIN • MARKETS. By Telegraph.—Press "Association.. Chrlstchurch, January 28. A fair quantity of wheat is offering, mostly from early ripened crops, therefore light .in. grain. Ho-wevcr, some samples arc fairly plump, considering the season. The sales effected were chiefly at sb. to . 55.. 2d., aid in odd oases a little more was paid. Millers are .not anxious to begin to stock up on . account of ttws strong position held by Australian .wheat. The flour mafrkct is very, firm. Oats are coming on the market, Gartons are selling up to 3s. 3d. at country stations. Southland'merchants are Quoting o atj at 3s. f.o.b. Bluff, sacks in, delivery up to the end of December • next, the crop this year being very heavy. One sale of oatsheaf , chaff made £5, also one' of £4 155., at . country stations. AUSTRALIAN PRODUCE. 3y Telecraph—Press Association—OonyrlsM Sydney, January 27. Oats, local Algerian, 2s. lid. to os. per bushel, Chilean, 2s. to 3i.; barley, maltings 3s. to 4s. per bushel; maize, Sotttli African, 6s. to 6s. 6d. per. bushel; potatoes, £10 !to £13. per ton; new, £15 to £16; onions, £2 to £4 per ton. Adelaide, January 27. Bran, 101 d. per' bushel; pollard, Is. JJd. per bushel; oats, 2s. to 2?. Id. per bushel. VICTORIAN- PRODUCE MARKET. Melbourne, January 28. Bran. £4 10s.; pollard, £6 10s.; oats, milling, 2s, 3d.; feed, 2s. to 2s. 2d.'; maize, 6s. 3d.; potatoes, £12 to £13; onions, £2 to £2 sa. MELBOURNE HIDE SALES. Melbourne, January 27. At the hide soles supplies were small. Heavy aorte were firm, but others were inclined to be casior.